The City of Charlottetown welcomes back its namesake ship. After a six-month mission, the HMCS Charlottetown has returned to its home port in Halifax. A crew of more than 200 people worked on the ship alongside NATO allies, patrolling in the central Mediterranean Sea as part of "Operation REASSURANCE."

"We’re so thrilled and relieved to see the crew and ship back, safe and sound," said Mayor Clifford Lee. "To be out sea and away from friends and family for the better part of a year is no easy feat. This dedicated crew has shown outstanding service in peacekeeping and security operations. We are grateful for the work that they continue to do and we want them to know that we appreciate them and welcome them back."

HMCS Charlottetown departed in June and traveled across the Atlantic Ocean, conducting Mission Specific Training. They arrived in the Mediterranean and continued east toward the Black Sea, traveling through the Straights of Istanbul. During the three weeks in the Black Sea, crews worked with Navies from Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States, with a focus on strengthening and developing common procedures for Maritime operations at sea and alongside.

In Constanta, Romania, HMCS Charlottetown served as a platform for Canadian diplomacy while a NATO reception was hosted on board. In Alexandria, crews worked alongside Special Forces from Egypt, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United States in an exercise intended to enhance interoperability.

HMCS Charlottetown participated in 5 large-scale exercises during its deployment. The ship conducted exercises in the Black Sea (Exercise SEA BREEZE and Exercise SEA SHIELD), off the coast of Scotland (Exercise JOINT WARRIOR) and in the Mediterranean Sea (Exercise MAVI BALINA and Exercise NAIAS).

During the deployment, HMCS Charlottetown and the crew conducted 17 strategic visits to foreign ports, in 10 different countries, reaching out to like-minded nations and partners to promote security, stability and prosperity. The following countries were visited: Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Spain and Turkey.

"Once again, I also want to recognize the families of the HMCS Charlottetown crew because we know they continue to lend strength and support to the crew as they carry out their important work," said Mayor Lee. "I’m sure many of the crew would say that you are the reason they are able to be in this line of work."

HMCS Charlottetown was commissioned in 1995 and awarded the Key to the City in 2015, which symbolizes the freedom of the Ships Company to enter and leave the city at will, as a trusted friend of all city residents. The HMCS Charlottetown was the tenth of twelve Canadian Patrol Frigates (CPF) to be delivered to the Canadian Navy. Boasting of a complex command and control system, combined with an impressive array of modern weaponry and sensors, HMCS Charlottetown is an advanced general purpose frigate.